From Jeff Cox

I have some startling news. Wine is just a beverage. A delicious and delightful one for sure, but just a beverage. Meanwhile, there are people out there paying really big bucks for bottles of wine. I mean really, really big bucks, like a grand or more. Why? Here’s why:

So they can set the bottle on the table in front of their friends and impress them with their ability to throw money away.

It’s preposterous to charge or pay $500, $750, or $1,000 for a bottle of wine. I’ve been to wine tastings of those Napa Valley cult wines that sell for huge sums, and guess what? They’re not worth it. Some were even so bad I wondered why they let them out of the winery.

You can drink wine every bit as good at reasonable prices. Look for “Made with Organically-Grown Grapes” on the label. The reason why so many winemakers grow their grapes organically or even Biodynamically is that the grapes taste better and so do the wines made from them.

So realize that you can drink excellent wines in the $15-$25 range, especially if they’re made from organic fruit. Expensive? Yes, but not unreasonable when you think of the costs associated with winemaking. A good French oak barrel alone costs close to $1,000.

So let the show-offs show off, and know that your bottle of $17.95 Cabernet Sauvignon may be even tastier than their $500 bottle. It’s a beverage, not edible jewelry.

Salute!
~

TreehuggerTV: Organic and Biodynamic Wines

~~
Jeff Cox is author of The Organic Cook’s Bible
Photos: Frey Vineyards
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From Lisa Barnes

According to the US EPA Department of Health and Human Services, the greatest exposure to pesticides and chemicals is in a child’s first 4 years. This is why many advocate for providing organic foods for children whenever possible. Sometimes organic is more costly than conventional foods, due to the higher cost of growing methods, land conversion and raising practices. Consider the cost of health and well being, as well as a decision to support the environment – preserving water resources and preventing agriculture-related problems. The extra cost most likely outweighs the worry and concern you have of the possibility of harming your child’s health and development.

However if you can’t always buy organic you can lower your family’s exposure to pesticides by up to 90% if you avoid the 12 most contaminated conventionally grown fruit and vegetables. What The Environmental Working Group calls the dirty dozen:

• apples
• bell peppers
• celery
• cherries
• grapes (imported)
• nectarines
• peaches
• pears
• potatoes
• red raspberries
• spinach
• strawberries

Reducing Health Risks
Buying organic reduces health risks that can be attributed to commercial pesticides and herbicides. No matter how well you wash certain fruits and vegetables there are still remaining traces of potentially harmful chemicals. Babies’ bodies are much more vulnerable to pesticides because their brains and immune systems are still in a state of development. Also pound for pound, babies eat two to four times more fruits and vegetables than adults, and thus are exposed to a higher percentage of possible contaminants.

Increasing Health Benefits
A study at the University of California at Davis (my Alma matter) shows that organically grown strawberries, corn and blackberries are richer in cancer fighting antioxidants, sometimes 60% more, than the same conventionally grown crops. Other studies have proven the same for organically grown peaches and pears too. Researchers theorize that organically grown plants may produce more antioxidants because they have to work harder to fight off pests and disease, otherwise killed by pesticides and chemicals.

Reducing Nitrites
Some fruits and vegetables you’ll want to introduce to your child have high levels of nitrites, due to the fertilized soils in which they grow. The nitrite levels also increase when these food items are stored in your refrigerator.

High nitrite produce includes: beets, turnips, spinach, mustard, carrots, green beans, butternut squash, strawberries and cantaloupe.

Nitrites are difficult on a baby’s system, because their stomach acidity is too low to properly break them down. Over exposure can cause anemia, or encourage oxygen to be displaced into bloodstreams, resulting in rapid breathing and lethargy. Buying these items (see below) grown organically, will lessen exposure. If you buy high nitrite foods grown conventionally and make your own baby food, wait to introduce these foods until your baby is over 8 months old or buy these food items in jarred options (manufacturers are able to test nitrite levels).
~~

From Dave Smith

I just picked up my weekly basket of organic/biodynamic veggies and eggs. The veggies come from Live Power Community Farm, a CSA farm up in Covelo. The eggs come from local organic/biodynamic farmer Adam Gaska.

One of my favorite dishes in the morning is protein-loaded, nutrient-dense, and off-the-charts if you’re counting calories. I’m not counting calories (and I’m not giving health advice). I don’t pay attention to nutty health-fad advice like “carbs are bad” and “cholesterol is awful” because carbs are good and some cholesterols are essential to my health. I get plenty of exercise and am right at my high school weight. I also know that there is a huge quality and health difference between organic/biodynamic and conventional foods; between cold-pressed olive oil and hydrogenated oils; between fresh foods and shelf-stale foods; between organic milk and rBGH-hormone-loaded milk; between grass-fed range meat and mystery meat. They’re feeding junk food to pigs for crying out loud! At least they stopped feeding cows cement and cardboard like they were doing a few years back.

If you want to buy yourself a cheap $2 “grand-slam” greasy-spoon breakfast of 3 meats, eggs, and deep-fried potatoes, you’re going to be eating unhealthy garbage… IMHO. If you want the real skinny on nutrition, I recommend spending some time on the cranky but Wise Traditions website.

Meanwhile, I’m cooking up a “heavy breakfast”: Whisk some organic eggs and pour them into an organic-buttered black skillet. Cook until just about ready, then throw on some freshly-chopped organic greens and herbs (the stems are just as nutritious as the leaves), some goat cheese, fold-it over and let it simmer a few seconds as cheese softens and greens slightly wilt. Serve with potatoes and some raw crunchy veggies like organic peppers or radishes, and maybe some organic rye toast.

For potatoes, I like the way they do them at our local Japanese restaurant, Oco Time (yes, potatoes). They lightly brush a combo of olive oil and butter on the grill (right in front of you if you’re sitting at the sushi bar), then place thinly-sliced (quarter-inch) pieces to brown at low-medium temp on both sides. They’re cooked through, slightly crunchy, not dry but not greazy, and don’t take long.

Extra added attraction: If you like sauteed onions, throw a few slices in with the potatoes and you can add them to the omelet with the other veggies.

Salt and pepper to taste. Shake on a bit of Tabasco. 10-15 minutes tops.

A cup of Darjeeling and I’m good to go, ready to roll.

Yummy.
~~
Dave Smith is author of To Be Of Use – The Seven Seed of Meaningful Work and lives in Mendocino County, California.
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From Jeff Cox

Yes, organic food does taste better and is more nutritious, no matter what the apologists for chemical agriculture say. It’s also purer, free of toxic chemicals, devoid of genetic modifications, without antibiotics and hormones, not irradiated, and is stuffed with everything Mother Nature intended it to be stuffed with—all for your benefit. That should be reason enough to buy and eat organic. But there’s more. Much more.

Let’s go back to the farms where organic foods are grown. These farmers are working with the forces of nature, not against them. There are serious consequences for that. Here’s what I mean.

Forces of nature are inexorable, immutable, and irresistible. They keep the worlds and the stars wheeling in their courses. They insist that water flows in certain patterns. And they have established the way plants grow to be healthy. Organic farmers and gardeners work with these forces of nature. They augment them. They recognize the whirling cycles of nature and help them whirl ever faster. Nature loves this. She responds with all kinds of unanticipated benefits.

For example, if you dig lots of actively decaying organic matter (anything that once was alive—compost, old plants, whatever) into the soil, here are just a few of the benefits that accrue:

~The decaying matter holds water like a sponge and makes the soil resistant to drought.

~Humus is created, which holds nutrients on its surfaces to be released as plants call for them.

~Nutrients in the organic matter spill into the soil and are recycled to build living plants’ tissues.

~Microorganisms in the soil bloom, feeding even more nutrients to the plants and preventing disease organisms from taking over.

~Healthy soil creates healthy plants, which are pest and disease resistant.

In other words, because you are trying to simply feed your plants in a natural way, Mother Nature showers you with gifts that promote health. You get a confluence of unintended benefits.

Now if you try to feed your plants with chemicals, you get a confluence of unintended detriments. Yes, you give your plants the major nutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that help plants grow. But here are just a few of the unintended detriments that accrue:

~Chemical nitrogen floods the soil with nitrogen, shutting down the natural ability of soil microorganisms to feed the plants nitrogen naturally, in the amounts they need, when they need it, in the form they need it. The result is a flush of soft, weak, green growth very attractive to insect pests.

~Excess chemical fertilizers run off into ground and surface water, polluting steams and lakes, creating algae blooms that suck all the oxygen from waterways, suffocating fish and other aquatic organisms, disrupting the natural order of life in water, and creating unhealthy ecosystems in the waterways.

~No organic matter is returned to the soil, meaning that soil life diminishes and eventually dies out. This renders the soil liable to erosion. Soil runs off into the steams and rivers, clogging and polluting them.

~Chemical fertilizers interrupt the natural cycles that create healthy soil which in turn creates healthy plants which in turn creates healthy animals that eat those plants. Health can be passed up the food chain, but the use of agricultural chemicals disrupts that chain.

~The production of chemical fertilizers requires enormous amounts of energy supplied by fossil fuels, which creates greenhouse gases and wastes finite resources of fuel. In so doing, the process destroys the earth’s natural ability to do the same thing without huge inputs of fossil fuels.

This only touches on a few of the issues surrounding organic versus conventional agriculture. There’s much more to be said about the effects of fungicides, herbicides, and nematocides; about humane versus inhumane treatment of our meat, milk, and egg producing animals; about the nutritional quality of our foodstuffs; about our relationship with the earth, and about how we—creatures of this earth and Mother Nature’s children—treat her, and what happens when we treat her with respect or when we clamp her in a headlock and try to force her to our will.

Organic goes way beyond putting aside the malathion and the Roundup. It goes to the heart of who we are and what we want.
~~
Jeff Cox is author of The Organic Cook’s Bible
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From Jesse Cool

This is a perfect dish for springtime. If you live near a seacoast that catches scallops, try to find those that are naturally harvested or not bleached or treated with chemicals to lighten them. These are known as day boat scallops and are available in some fish markets and supermarkets. They may not look as uniform in size or color, but they are worth the extra cost for both health and environmental reasons.

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 whole canned chipotle chile pepper, pureed or minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 pound sea scallops
¾ cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon dried coriander
½ a spoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
Lime wedges

In a small bowl, combine the oil, lime juice, sugar, garlic, chile pepper, and cilantro. Let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place cup water in a large skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add the asparagus. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 4 minutes, or until tender-crisp. Remove to a platter and keep warm.

Remove and discard the tough muscle from the scallops.

In a small bowl, combine the cornmeal, coriander, salt, and black pepper. Dust the scallops with the cornmeal mixture.

In a heavy skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the scallops and cook for 2 to 4 minutes, turning once, until lightly browned and opaque.

Evenly divide the asparagus among 4 plates. Top with the scallops. Drizzle with the chipotle dressing. Garnish with lime wedges.

Makes 4 servings.
~~
Jesse Cool is author of Your Organic Kitchen and lives in Menlo Park, California.
Jesse’s current book is The Really, Truly, Honest-to-Goodness One-Pot Cookbook.
Photo by Lisa Koenig
New edition of Your Organic Kitchen available soon
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